Ôyama Kikuko was the daughter of Saigô Takamori and Aikana. She is said to have been the first woman from Amami Ôshima to become an elite in Kagoshima. She had one older brother, Saigô Kikujirô, and a number of half-siblings.
She was born in 1862 in Tatsugô-chô on the island of Amami Oshima, where Saigô was living in exile. Originally known as Kikugusa, her name was changed to Kikuko when, at the age of 14, her father took her with him to Kagoshima.
In 1880, she was married to Ôyama Seinosuke, younger brother of Ôyama Iwao.
She died in 1909 of pneumonia at the age of 48. She is buried alongside Seinosuke and other members of their family at the temple of Daien-ji in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.
References
- Gallery labels, Amami Tatsugô Shima Museum.[1]